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The company is confident that it will be able to propose opportunities to most of the affected employees through programmes which are ramping up

Airbus statement

Jürgen Kerner, director of the union that represents Airbus employees in Germany, said: “The company's order book is healthy enough that it must be able to offer affected workers alternative employment. Our union is willing to talk.”

Production of the A400M will fall from 15 troop carriers this year to just eight in 2020, with six double decker A380s to be made in 2020.

Airbus said in a statement: “Airbus is committed to managing any implications for its workforce in a responsible manner - as already successfully demonstrated on various occasions in the past," it said in a statement.

“The company is confident that it will be able to propose opportunities to most of the affected employees through programmes which are ramping up.”

Airbus spent $25billion developing the superjumbo but orders did not meet expectations with just over 200 of the aircraft delivered. Airbus had expected to shift 1,200 of the jets.

Emirates purchased most of the A380 jets and upped its order with 36 extra planes in January.